RURAL RiSE has published its Training Toolkit, a new public resource developed within the project. According to the project documentation, it is a public deliverable led by DIESIS and designed to support training actions with municipalities and stakeholders involved in the project.
This publication is closely linked to the wider objectives of RURAL RiSE. The project aims to reinforce education, training and skills development for unemployed people in rural areas, with particular attention to youth and women. Within this framework, the project promotes Local Action Plans that position social economy enterprises as key drivers of sustainable rural development, regeneration and job creation.
The toolkit combines conceptual background with practical guidance. Its structure covers the foundations of the social economy, the connection between social economy and territorial development, the role and methodology of Local Action Plans, and a final section that brings together legal and policy frameworks, support mechanisms, examples and practical tools for local authorities in Spain, Italy and Serbia.
One of the main strengths of the toolkit is its practical focus. It explains that social economy organisations can help revitalise local economies, combat depopulation and support greener and more inclusive opportunities in rural areas. It also presents Local Action Plans as bottom-up roadmaps that help communities move from passive beneficiaries to active co-producers of their own employment and development strategies.
The resource also includes concrete tools for local authorities, such as stakeholder mapping templates, participatory methodologies, digital engagement tools and collaboration mechanisms that can help identify priorities, mobilise local assets and implement realistic local strategies.
In addition, the toolkit highlights examples of rural social economy initiatives that show how these approaches can already generate positive change in different contexts. Among them is Olympe Emprende in Spain, presented as an incubator that provides training in social entrepreneurship and mentoring to rural women to help them launch cooperatives and sustainable business plans.
With this new publication, RURAL RiSE continues to build bridges between training, cooperation and local action. The Training Toolkit is a shared resource for municipalities, social economy organisations and rural stakeholders working to create more inclusive, resilient and sustainable futures in rural areas.
Read the toolkit
Read the Training Toolkit here: Training Toolkit
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SME Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
